Central Park : A Love Affair

Beautiful view of Manhattan looking south from the North End section of the Jackie O' Reservoir

When I think of Central Park, I think of a love story.  Not only because of what a wonderful place it is to run, but even more because of all the times and of all the places in the park that remind me of my beloved wife, Karen. 

Parking!

However, my love for this park started a long time though because I used to run in or even into Central Park back in the mid-80's.  When I lived in Kew Gardens, I would either run in, or take the E or the F to 53rd and Lex, and I would run in the park.  This was especially true in the winter, where in the early morning, on a brisk or even colder day than this, I'd do a loop around the park.  Afterwards, I would always have breakfast at someplace nearby.  I would do all of this, then take a train back to Queens, just in time to shower and get ready for work, when I worked at Spanish Heritage Tours.  A lot of it was done out of determination and anger over the failings of my mother, and of the girl at McDonald's at the time, which had blown up in my face a year earlier in 1983. However, I now can only remember the goodness of how I felt over what I had accomplished by running in the park during those sunny, cold mornings.  Looking back, it was a very special time for me.

Happy Boy

The 'goodness' of those times, were no different then than they would later be in 2004.  And even still, that period and the one before, paled in comparison, to the recent and most wonderful of all memories I've culled after having met my beautiful wife in Manhattan, and moving there in 2009 to be with her.

I can still vividly remember as I ran today, many of the self-made "landmarks" that Karen and I shared together at Central Park.  Like the park bench where Karen had rested her head on my lap, right after she did her NY Mini 10k, and literally only hours after I had met her the night before.  Or the Reservoir, where I first started to train in earnest, close to the time when used to stay over, and before I moved in with her. This and of course, all of the races that I did in this park, both with and without my lovely spouse. 

Beefareeno, anyone?

I can also recall back in 2010, where I would train with the NYRR instructors, especially doing those sprints not far from E96th, and up and around to the west side of the 102nd street transverse.  And still more, were the vivid recollections I had of the Harlem Meer and the duck pond, and the Lasker Ice Skating Rink, both with Karen and the kids.  And of course, Lasker in the summer meant swimming and not skating, for I can remember when Karen and I were training vigorously for our first triathlon.  I was still living in Lindenhurst at the time, but had just started to be heavily and romantically involved with her.

I can also remember staying at Karen's and going to the Guggenheim Museum with Stephanie and Matthew, and the Ballfields near 102nd, and playing with them there too.  Going hiking with them and Karen, were also special moments.  So, a lot of wonderful, fabulous, and unforgettable memories that will never escape me for as long as I shall live.  Truly, moving out of Manhattan was the right thing to do, but the one big blow, the one thing is and forever will be irreplaceable is this beautiful place known as Central Park. This park, along with its spirit and everything else, is simple for me to love.

After dropping Steffie and Matt, I had time to kill, but because of the added time to drive back to Port Washington, I thought best to run while it was light outside, while driving in the dark.  But where to go?  Central Park.

I found parking right away (I guess that only happens when either a-it's a Sunday, or b-you no longer live in Manhattan) near 99th and Central Park West.  And, by 3:30pm, I was running towards the Mecca, and towards just a few of the myriad of wonderful memories described above.  Originally, I wasn't going to run outdoors, even though the temp was at 46, since I'm still getting over my cold, but the thought of running on a treadmill for even 5 more miles (let alone 10 or 15) was more than I could bare.  I'm so sick of treadmills!  So, I needed a break. 

I also needed hill work for this upcoming Saturday's Al Gordon race in Prospect Park, and Central Park, with all of its rolling hills, Harlem Heartbreak, Cat Hill, etc, is the perfect place for it.

Looking west from southside of Reservoir

Looking east from southside of Reservoir

Now to bore you with the details.  I wound up running 15 miles today!  Yes!  I did a little over 2 full loops of the park, and in between added 1.25 loops of the Reservoir, plus a little extra on Cenrtal Park Drive West.  As a result, I broke two long-standing records from 2008.  The first, was that today's run of 15.1 miles beat my previous February long run record of 14 miles, and the second was the 47.4 miles I did this week, beating my previous of 46.8, both records which took place in 2008, 4 years ago.

With 73.3 miles to go in the next 10 days, I have an outside chance of breaking my February month record of most miles.  Currently that stands at 169.8

Off topic.  The Knicks beat the World-Championship Mavericks.  And yes, Jeremy Lin kicked butt again!

Tavern on the Green - Being remodeled for the new owners.  Can't

Guggenheim.  As I passed by it twice around, I kept thinking of when I

90th Street & the East Side. View of the trail, and the reservoir above that. 

The Great Lawn opposite Tavern on the Green.

Central Park from CPWest Drive near 100th Street.

High Rises along the East Side

Hard not to think about Ghostbusters when seeing this building!